Archive | February, 2024

Enchilada-Stuffed Sweet Potatoes

26 Feb

The foodNURDling has recently expressed an interest in eating less meat, so I had a great excuse to go cruising through my (too) many cookbooks. I found a tasty-looking option in Two Peas and Their Pod by Maria Lichty and Rachel Holtzman. The original recipe calls for black beans, but those don’t go over so well with the foodNURDling so those were omitted. (I added 1 more pepper and 1/2c corn to help bulk it out.) I had enchilada sauce in my freezer from a previous batch, but you can absolutely buy it in the store. These were a big hit and will make their way into the rotation.

Ingredients
4 sweet potatoes, scrubbed
1 tb olive oil
1/2 c onion, chopped (I used white onion as that’s what I had in the cupboard)
1 red pepper, diced
1 15oz can black beans, drained and rinsed
1/4 c cilantro, chopped (reserve a bit for topping if you like)
1 tb lime juice
salt & pepper
2 c enchilada sauce
1 c pepper Jack/Monterrey/marble/whatever ya like, shredded
Sour cream or yogurt, for serving
1 avocado, diced, for serving
Crumbled queso fresco or feta, for serving

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 400F and line a baking sheet with foil. Place the sweet potatoes on the sheet and poke all over with a fork to avoid a carby explosion. Bake 50-60 minutes. Once cooked, remove the potatoes from the oven but leave the oven on. The foil, too. You’ll need that again.
2. Heat your olive oil in a large pan to medium-high. Add your onion, sautéing for 2 minutes. Add your pepper and garlic, cooking another 2 minutes. Finally, add the beans, cilantro and lime juice. (This is where I added the corn.) Season to taste with salt and pepper, cook 3 more minutes and set aside.
3. Carefully halve your baked potatoes lengthwise. Pour about 1/4c of the enchilada sauce on each potato half. Spoon your filling and the sprinkle with the shredded cheese. Put the whole tray back in the oven and cook for another 5-10 minutes until the cheese has melted.
4. Top with your sour cream/yogurt, avocado and queso. A few drops of your favourite hot sauce are great on there, too, if that’s your thing.




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Spiced Mini Muffins

9 Feb

Need a quick breakfast option? A mid-day snack? Something you can throw in the freezer to pull out when you forgot to grab groceries? Fluffy on the inside with a light, crunchy topping, these little babies are quick to make, quicker to eat and thoroughly delicious. I’ve adapted this recipe a bit from Canadian Living’s version and they were devoured by everyone in the house. (Everyone except the dog, who felt unappreciated after supervising while I baked.)

Original recipe says it makes 24, but I was able to get 30 out of my batch.

Muffin batter             

3/4 c melted butter                 
1 c 2% plain yogurt           
2 tb 2% milk              
2 eggs, beaten             
1 ts vanilla
2 1/2 c all-purpose flour
1/3 c granulated sugar
1/3 c brown sugar
1 1/2 ts baking powder
1/2 ts baking soda
1 ts grated nutmeg
1/2 ts cinnamon
1/2 ts salt

Topping
1/4 c melted butter
1/2 c granulated sugar
1 ts grated nutmeg
1 ts cinnamon

Directions

  1. Preheat your oven to 425 and grease a 24-cup mini muffin pan.
  2. In a large bowl, mix together the butter, yogurt, milk, eggs and vanilla until smooth and combined for 2 minutes.
  3. In a separate bowl, mix all your dry ingredients. Add the dry mix to the wet mix in a few additions until combined. The batter will be thick!
  4. Fill each muffin cup with 2tb of batter. Bake for roughly 12-14 minutes, til the tops are golden. Let the muffins cool for 5 minutes before proceeding with adding the topping.
  5. While the muffins are baking, melt your 1/4 butter in one bowl and combine the sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg in another.
  6. Dip the muffin tops in the butter and then the sugar mixture.

    Try not to eat all in one sitting. If you have the restraint, you can keep these for a few days on the counter in an air-tight container for 3 days or in the freezer for 3 months.

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